Indium Nitride HEMT Blended Regions Ohmic Contact
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Solution Overview
Problem
High aluminum content in aluminum gallium nitride and aluminum nitride layers in semiconductor devices leads to increased resistance and poor ohmic contact between source and drain contacts, limiting device performance.
Innovation Solution
Introducing blended regions beneath the indium gallium nitride layer, where aluminum atoms from the aluminum nitride layer are drawn into the aluminum gallium nitride layer, reducing its band gap and incorporating indium atoms to lower the band gap further, thereby reducing resistance and improving ohmic contact performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If high aluminum content aluminum gallium nitride and aluminum nitride layers are used, then band gap is increased and material stability is improved, but resistance increases and ohmic contact performance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating blended regions with specific aluminum content gradients (15-35%) beneath the source and drain contacts, rather than using uniform high aluminum content throughout. This localized modification reduces resistance at critical contact interfaces while preserving the stability benefits of high aluminum content in other regions of the device.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the aluminum content parameter in the aluminum gallium nitride layer from uniformly high (>25%) to a graded distribution (15-35%) in blended regions. This parameter change reduces the band gap locally, lowering resistance and improving ohmic contact performance while maintaining overall material stability.
2Stability of the object's composition
If high aluminum content semiconductor layers are used, then material stability is improved, but resistance between source and drain contacts increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces blended regions with modified aluminum content (15-35%) specifically beneath the source and drain contacts, creating local quality variations that reduce resistance at these critical interfaces while preserving material stability in other device regions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent modifies the aluminum content parameter in the aluminum gallium nitride layer from uniformly high to a graded distribution in blended regions, which reduces the band gap and electrical resistance locally without compromising overall material stability.
3Reliability
If indium atoms are incorporated into aluminum gallium nitride layer, then band gap is reduced and conductivity is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates indium atoms locally in blended regions beneath source and drain contacts rather than uniformly throughout the device. This localized approach improves conductivity where needed while minimizing manufacturing complexity by limiting indium incorporation to specific areas.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates composite material structures by blending indium, aluminum, and gallium atoms in the indium aluminum gallium nitride layer. This composite approach allows tailored conductivity in blended regions while maintaining manageable manufacturing complexity through controlled material composition.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution effectively reduces resistance and enhances ohmic performance between the source and drain contacts, improving the overall performance of semiconductor devices by replacing high band gap materials with low band gap materials and increasing conductivity.
Implementation Method 1
aluminum atoms from the aluminum nitride layer are drawn into the aluminum gallium nitride layer
Implementation Method 2
incorporating indium atoms to lower the band gap further
Data Source
AI summary
A semiconductor device includes an indium gallium nitride layer over an active layer. The semiconductor device further includes an annealed region beneath the indium gallium nitride layer, the annealed region comprising indium atoms driven from the indium gallium nitride layer into the active layer.